Nigerian nuns take action against violent conflict within country

Abuja, Nigeria, Mar 12, 2018 / 10:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- With widespread violence plaguing Nigeria, Catholic religious sisters in the country have united in the name of peace to counter the mounting conflicts.

“The news of murders, massacres, kidnappings, lootings, trafficking in human beings and the actions of Boko Haram are staggeringly frequent and have even increased in recent times,” said Sister Bibiana Emenaha, coordinator for the Committee for Women’s Dignity Support, according to Vatican Insider.

“That’s why NCWR [National Conference of Religious Women] decided to take to the streets and, in addition to asking God for support, to gather women and men of good will to stop this worrying state of things,” Sister Emenaha continued.

On Feb. 14, the Nigerian religious sisters hosted a national day of prayer and fasting, where hundreds across the country united to pray for peace. This event was hosted by the Nigeria Conference of Women Religious and the African Faith & Justice Network.

This prayer and fasting imitative was only the beginning. The sisters additionally began to actively urge the government to create programs that would combat violence and work towards building bridges of peace within the communities.

“We are asking for greater security and protection of life and property,” said Sister Emenaha, noting that they are particularly requesting ways that the government could “stop the bloodshed as soon as possible.”

The sisters, who are members of the NCWR, have also jumpstarted a number of initiatives to aid the victims of violence within Nigeria, including a rehab shelter for survivors of human trafficking. This facility, located in Benin City, offers legal, psychological, spiritual and material support to women and girls who have been affected by trafficking and human slavery.

The program also offers educational campaigns on trafficking to schools, churches, media, and local communities. The sisters have so far seen tremendous support for their efforts and have been able to reintegrate around 380 individuals.

Additionally, the sisters have created an inter-religious program which unites people of all faiths to combat the staggering violence within the country.

“Throughout the year, we organize seminars, meetings and conferences attended by women of other faiths and confessions, and their presence is an added value in achieving our goals,” Emenaha said.

The violence within Nigeria stems from a number of different sources, including clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

This particular conflict has been mounting over the years, and involves primarily the Fulani and Tiv ethnic groups, although a number of other groups have been affected by its reach.

The fight for the land has also escalated with the growing drought, which has claimed the lives of over 3,000 people and caused more than 65,000 to leave their homes.

Boko Haram, a radical Islamist group, is another source of terrorism within the nation, and which has been responsible for a number of the kidnappings and bloodshed that has recently taken place in Nigeria.

Emenaha noted that the nuns’ prayers and actions have been the result of “concern for the increased violent clashes between communities, particularly among herdsmen and farmers, for the senseless killings and unbridled destruction of human lives, for the incessant kidnappings and violence against women and girls.”

It is their hope that through prayer and action, they may help bring an end to the destruction and restore a respect for human dignity within Nigeria.

“We are convinced that God listens to the cry of his children who turn to him desperately.”

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Jerusalem, Jan 20, 2017 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The 50 year-long of occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza by Israel must be at the attention of every Christian and demands resolution, the chair of the Holy Land Coordination said Thursday.

“Our Coordination has called for justice and peace every year since 1998, yet the suffering continues. So this call must get louder. As Bishops we implore Christians in our home countries to recognize our own responsibility for prayer, awareness and action,” Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton, chair of the Holy Land Coordination, wrote in a Jan. 19 statement. The statement was signed by another 11 bishops, including Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces.

The communique marked the conclusion of an annual week-long pilgrimage to the Holy Land by the group, made up of bishops from Europe, North America, and South Africa. The Holy Land Coordination is encouraged in its work by the Holy See as it supports the local Church in Palestine and Israel.

“For fifty years the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza have languished under occupation, violating the human dignity of both Palestinians and Israelis,” Bishop Lang said. “This is a scandal to which we must never become accustomed”

“So many people in the Holy Land have spent their entire lives under occupation, with its polarising social segregation, yet still profess hope and strive for reconciliation,” Bishop Lang wrote. “Now, more than ever, they deserve our solidarity.”

The bishop also stated that we have a responsibility to oppose the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are home to some 600,000 Israelis. Under international law, the settlements are considered illegal, though Israel disputes this.

The settlers’ “de facto annexation of land not only undermines the rights of Palestinians in areas such as Hebron and East Jerusalem but, as the UN recently recognised, also imperils the chance of peace,” Bishop Lang stated.

Turning to the situation of the Gaza Strip, he said Gazans, “who continue to live amid a man-made humanitarian catastrophe,” need assistance. “They have now spent a decade under blockade, compounded by a political impasse caused by ill-will on all sides.”

He continued to say apathy can never be a response to the scandal, and it is the job of every Christian to help the local Church, as well as its agencies, volunteers, and non-governmental organizations.

“We all have a responsibility to encourage non-violent resistance. This is particularly necessary in the face of injustices such as the continued construction of the separation wall on Palestinian land including the Cremisan Valley.”

The proposed Israeli security barrier route effectively confiscates Palestinian land, and compromises the ministry of Christian institutions and the rights of Christian landowners.

Bishop Lang added that “we all have a responsibility to promote a two-state solution,” noting that the Holy See has said, “if Israel and Palestine do not agree to exist side-by-side, reconciled and sovereign within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders, peace will remain a distant dream and security an illusion.”

Bishop Lang ended the communiqué with a biblical quote about the Jubilee, the ancient practice of the Kingdom of Israel of liberating slaves and forgiving debts every 50 years: “You will declare this fiftieth year to be sacred and proclaim the liberation of all the country’s inhabitants,” he said, quoting Leviticus 25:10.

“During this fiftieth year of occupation we must pray for the liberty of everyone in the Holy Land and practically support all those working to build a just peace,” he concluded.

Lusaka, Zambia, Jan 9, 2018 / 01:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A cholera outbreak in the southern African country of Zambia, centered on the capital Lusaka, has led to an indefinite cancellation of some school openings and church services.

“We have had an outbreak of cholera from October 6, 2017 and it has affected mainly Lusaka Province and we have recorded sporadic cases in various parts of the country,” read a statement from Zambia’s Minister of Health, Chitalu Chilufya, and the Minister of Education, Dennis Wanchinga, according to Africa News.

As of Jan. 9, an estimated 2,802 individuals have been infected by cholera throughout Zambia, including 66 deaths – the majority of which have occurred in Lusaka.

Due to the outbreak, a handful of ecclesial communities in Lusaka have cancelled services as a precaution against the spread of the disease. In addition, schools have indefinitely called off classes for students.

The Zambian bishops’ conference has limited the number of Masses in some places, and cancelled the sign of peace at Masses which are still being held.

Representatives of three Christian communities in Zambia – the Catholic Church, the Council of Churches in Zambia, and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia – issued a Jan. 8 statement on national dialogue which included a lamentation over the cholera crisis.

“Our hearts go to the many families who have lost their loved ones from the disease. We pray for God’s peace, comfort and encouragement during this time of national crisis. We pray for the various teams working on the ground to fight the cholera outbreak so that this may be overcome quickly and life may be restored to normal,” they said. “We support the efforts of other stakeholders in this battle against cholera and pledge ourselves to collaborate with government in addressing the epidemic.”

Kanyama, one of the poorest townships in Lusaka, has been particularly affected by the disease, according to Reuters. Because of this, government intervention in the area has enforced a curfew, and has also banned street vending and public gatherings while the threat of cholera remains.

Cholera is caused by bacterial infection. Within a few hours of infection, the disease causes vomiting and diarrhoea, leading to severe dehydration that can be deadly without rapid intervention. Access to clean water and sanitation is critical to control the spread of cholera, and those with mild symptoms can usually be treated with hydration and antibiotics, although some cases require intravenous fluids.

Recent investigations have shown that the cholera outbreak in Zambia has been caused mainly by food contamination, according to Reuters. Three restaurants have been shut down after they were found to contain the cholera bacterium.

Government efforts have been set in place to combat the spread of cholera in the country. A vaccine will be available for administration Jan. 10 in the areas most affected by the disease, according to Lusaka Times.

Zambia’s president also highlighted the work of the Zambia Defence Forces, which have been collaborating with other organizations in the fight against the disease.

“I have directed all three wings of the Defence Force to join the Ministry of Health and the city fathers, Lusaka City Council to escalate efforts to minimize the spread of cholera in our capital city and the rest of the country,” said President Edgar Lungu of Zambia last month.

A Jan. 16 statement from the Nigerian bishops’ conference focused on clashes between herdsmen and farmers; a spate of kidnappings; and the large number of internally displaced persons and refugees.

“The recent mass slaughter of unarmed citizens by these armed herdsmen in some communities in Benue, Adamawa, Kaduna and Taraba States has caused national shock, grief and outcry” read the statement.

“We believe that, if there is some degree of political will, our public authorities can take adequate steps to put an end to these human tragedies.”

Signed by Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos and Bishop William Avenya of Gboko, the president and secteary of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, respectively, the statement also urged officials to attend to increased kidnappings causing fear among citizens and humanitarian issues occurring in refugee camps.

On Jan. 11, thousands of Nigerians gathered in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, to mourn the death of 73 people. The deaths were a result of suspected Fulani herdsman who have raided nearby farming communities with automatic rifles since the beginning of the year.

Additionally, at least 55 people were killed by the nomadic herdsman in the neighboring state of Taraba. However, the violence has not ended and the death toll is likely to rise.

Violence between Fulani herdsmen and farmers has increased in recent years since climate issues have pushed herders further south. The bishops understood the herdsmen’s concern “to save their livestock and economy” but condemned the “massacres of innocent people” that have resulted.

“Our perilous situation calls for more security consciousness,” the statement read, and the bishops urged authorities to take measures to disarm and unmask the criminals responsible for the attacks.

They maintained that “a better alternative to open grazing should be sought rather than introducing ‘grazing colonies’ in the country. Government should rather encourage cattle owners to establish ranches in line with international best practice.”

“Farmers and herdsmen have a lot to contribute to the socio economic prosperity of our nation. A more enduring strategy must be worked out for their peaceful co-existence and mutual respect,” the bishops wrote.

Without government intervention, the bishops are worried the conflict would breed situations of long term violence, and that farmers would have to result to self-defense, creating a state of anarchy.

“This will, no doubt, lead to the complete breakdown of law and order in the country,” wrote the bishops. “It is wiser and easier to prevent a war than to stop it after it has broken out,” they later added.

The bishops, though, applauded the government’s successful efforts to remove one terrorist group, but were also saddened by the incidents of kidnapping and the lack of police efforts to prevent such widespread crimes.

“While thanking God and the federal government for the successes so far recorded in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists in the north east, we are appalled by the repeated occurrence of other ugly incidents,” read the message.

Recent kidnappings from have seeded fear among Nigeria’s citizens, the bishops said, noting that no individual “no matter how old, sacred or highly placed” has been safe from the humiliating attacks.

An Italian priest, who had been missionary in Nigeria for three years, was kidnapped in October 2017. He was taken while driving in Benin City, the capital of Edo, a southern state of the country. Likewise, six religious women were taken last November from their convent near Benin City.

All the mentioned parties have been released, but the bishops expressed frustrations that “communities should be better policed” considering the monthly allowance set aside by the Federal Republican of Nigeria for security forces.

Two American and two Canadian citizens were kidnapped in Kaduna state Jan. 17. The kidnappers shot and killed two police escorts in the incident, according to the BBC.

The bishops also encouraged more policing of refugee camps, which have reportedly become hubs of sexual harassment.

Due to political unrest, Cameroonians have fled their country and taken residence in refugee camps within the states of Taraba and Banue. Many of these places are in need of basic necessities, sanitation, and medical supplies, the bishops wrote.

The government should provide additional support to the National Commission for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, they said, but also urged people to aid integration of these struggling communities.

In conclusion, the bishops called on all of Nigeria to participate in actions of peace, forgiveness, and mutual dialogue.

“We, therefore, urge all aggrieved parties to seek reconciliation through dialogue and mutual forgiveness. Above all, we passionately appeal to them to beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.”

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